Dec 12, 2005

Irreconcilable Deferences

Did you catch the Sunday New York Times front page article about the resurgence of bed bugs in New York? Manhattan, no less! Oh yeah, the exterminators are doing a hopping business trying to relieve “hysteric” denizens of maternity wards, elite boarding schools and plush hotels of yea olde bed louse! Complaints are up from 2 to 375 or there abouts. What is going on here?

I should admit that I didn’t get the story from the NYT (I wouldn’t read that liberal rag except under extreme duress or on the recommendation of a trusted friend). I heard about this on Dennis Prager’s show today. As he explained, the NYT gave three possible reasons for the increase of bed bugs in New York: 1) increased immigration from “developing” countries; 2) cheap air travel in recent years (same as (1)); 3) banned pesticides. But the author really gave away the answer earlier in the article when he stated that the bed bug was virtually eliminated from NY after WWII due to the use of DDT. So, if you answered number 3, DING DING DING – you’re a winner!

Now, I’d be stopping this article letting us all enjoy the discomfort of the limousine liberals in NY if there weren’t some serious physical, financial and emotional ramifications for innocent people around the world due to the environmental movement. I’m sure you’ve heard the facts about malarial deaths in Africa, blocked development in Colorado due to the Prebles jumping mouse (which turns out to be genetically indistinguishable from your average western field mouse) and blocked development in California due to an insect species (don’t they out-number us billions to one?). Perhaps you even saw the Frontline where they interviewed a woman scientist from Africa who was developing a disease and insect resistant yam to try to feed her starving countrymen. But she was using – DUNH DUNH DUNH DUNH (you should be biting your knuckles now) – genetic engineering and so the extremist environmental group ELF torched her lab in Michigan. All very disturbing incidents, but what is the underlying cause?

I believe it is because environmental activists are “for Nature”, while those of us who espouse Judeo-Christian values are “for humanity”. This goes back to my previous article (Liberalism vs. Intelligent Design) where I stated the central tenant of J/C values that man is made in God’s image. This belief system requires deferential treatment of humanity where the environmental faith views man as an accident of evolution – no more important than any other animal, but a lot bigger pest! Now, as Dennis said, we are all environmentalists – it is absurd how liberals try to portray conservatives as against clean water and clean air – but some of us recognize the trade-offs! I know that DDT has been shown to thin the egg shells of large raptors. But, while the Bald Eagle has made a tremendous comeback since DDT was banned, tens of thousands of people are starving, suffering debilitating disease, dying and…well, being bitten by bed bugs. The moral choice seems pretty clear.